All for Elle- Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't profit from any of these pieces it is just a hobby.

Authors note. Thanks to all the people that reviewed. If I hadn't of got such positive feedback I'm sure I wouldn't of posted so soon. Hint hint. Thanks to Irismoon for telling me about the confusion with past/present. I've corrected that. So thank you, comments are taken seriously, and are welcome.

**Present**

Getting into her Tahoe, Sara was already calming down from her silent out burst in the break room. Now that her anger was dissipating, her embarrassment was growing considerably. Weather this be due to her giving up so easily or because she had stormed out rather immaturely she didn't know. All she wanted to do now was go home, and read a book, have her police radio on and wait for a major incident to come her way. And only then would Grissom let her come in today. Some how she got the feeling this was not going to happen. The embarrassed part of her was glad at least. Facing her colleagues again today was not going to be easy.

Turing the key in the ignition, the engine started and Sara manoeuvred her vehicle home automatically. Before she knew it she was there, which she always found rather disconcerting. Parking, she walked up to her apartment and let her self in. Closing the door behind her, she was glad to be in the comfort of her own home.

Taking off her jacket, she put it carefully on the side. Everything in Sara's apartment was carefully placed. That's what Sara liked, everything to have order and a place. She had grown up in a home where no one bothered to clean up, and she had hated it. She had tried day after day to keep it clean and tidy, sweep the floors, pick the rubbish up and clean the dishes. But it was only she after. she was only one girl then, and she had no control. But now, now she had all the control in her life. No real commitments, except to her work, but she could still leave. She had colleagues, which could be classified by many people as her friends. But, she wasn't dependent on them. She wasn't the type of person who depended on people.

At a brisk pace she walked into the middle of the room where her sofa and telephone was. Sitting down she leaned back, closing her eyes for just a moment to gather any bearings she had left. It wasn't that she was depressed or anything as serious as that. She had learnt long ago that self- pity didn't help, and she hated just as much as she hated receiving other people's pity. Sara Sidle could look after her self that was a known fact.

**Past**

After that night, Sara had been in shock for near a week. She knew Elle was gone. She knew she would never see her again. She even knew where the body was buried. But Sara was starting to worry, people at school and around the town had asked her where Elle was. And she would reply as told by the old man the same thing.

"She ran away, left one night, we've been looking every where for her,"

They would walk away, none the wiser. Of course from the second she had seen her sister on the floor. She had known the truth, Elle was dead. Sara was a realist, and though she cried herself to sleep for the fist, hard week. She had to stop being a wimp and face up to the facts, If not for her, for Elle. That's what she told herself, she was doing this all for Elle. But that was not what worried her. It had just.happened. One night she had woken up, and for those few blissful seconds she had forgotten. She had glanced over to see Elle. And she had been gone. She had thought to herself, where was her sister. And a voice had popped into her head.

"She ran away, left one night, we've been looking every where for her,"

It was her voice, but it seemed false. Then it had hit her the truth, and at the same time it had disgusted her. In a moment of failure she had believed her fathers lies. The lies she spread for him because of her own fear.

She knew she needed to get out. But it seemed she was going to have to be smart. She was going to have to wait. All she had to do was wait.

**Present**

Sara woke up to the screeching of a near accident out side of her apartment. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep. Looking at the clock, she saw it was Four I the morning, she had got back about one, so she had got about three hours sleep, which wasn't bad for her. For a moment she considered going to bed till morning, but decided against it when she saw six messages on the answering machine. She hadn't heard the phone ring, let alone the machine.

Sitting up, she shook the cobwebs out of her head. Leaning forward she pressed the pay button, wondering who would be calling her at this time. She leaned back and waited for the message to play and, as she had expected the first message was from Nick. He was properly her best friend here in Las Vegas, and she was always touched about how worried he got over her.

"Hey Sara, I hope you have calmed down since, earlier. Just checking to see whether you're ok. Maybe you can still meet us all for breakfast, if you want. Anyway, later," Stated the recorded voice. Sara felt better over the fact that there were people in her life that cared about her. She had always had people caring about her in all the different parts of her life. It had been Elle, and then after a while, with her parents being debilitated, as she sometimes put it, she turned to another.

Sara waited for the next message to play, and when the uncertain voice that she hadn't heard in over ten years, echoed through the room, she nearly jumped off her seat.

It was Mike, and he was coming to Vegas.

**Past**

"Sara, Sara, wait up" Called the voice of her best friend, Mike. He wore old rather tatty clothes but he walked with pride, Mike's dad had died when he was younger, leaving only his mother to deal with him. Everyone knew she was a drunk, but every time someone told the authorities, he would clean her up and their apartment in order to stay together. Sara hadn't got it at first, she had said why do all that for his mother, when he had an exist right in front of him. And what he had said made her realize her situation even more.

"My mum may spend her life in a daze, but we get by. She loves me, and I know it. What else could I possibly want from life at this time? Me leaving would literally kill her. I'm all she has left"

That night she had wondered. Did her parents love her? Love was such a strong word. Did her parents even like her? She knew her father didn't, her and Elle had wreaked his life. He had been in love with someone else yet cheated on her with her mother; she knew that much from what Elle had over heard. And when her mother had become pregnant, her grandfather had made them marry. When she was born she had become just another thorn in his side.

She had wondered why they didn't just get a divorce now, but Elle had explained. He was hanging on to the inheritance left for their mother. If they divorced, he would get nothing. Her grandfather had made that so.

Her mother however was a different case. She didn't really see her that often, she shadowed her father, barely speaking to her. She cooked and cleaned, but nothing else. Elle had told her that it was because of the drugs, she was clean now, but her brain wasn't quite like it used to be. She had heard someone say she had been clever once, real clever. But all that was lost. And like herself, her mother was just as scared for her life.

Getting away from her thoughts she turned and grinned at mike as he ran, books in his hand to catch up with her as she walked to school.

A year had past since that night. A whole year. One spring, one summer, one autumn and now they were back to winter again. And truth be told, this year had been hell. She hadn't found that moment; her parents had made it clear that there was to be no more "planning". They kept her window nailed shut and her door locked at night. She had thought about leaving while walking to school, but she couldn't just hop on a bus on a school day. And she knew her father had words with the town's police about keeping a watch on her, saying she had been getting moody cause of her sisters leaving. This of course wasn't true, far from it in fact, considering she spent all her time studying when she wasn't at school, except for the time she spent with Mike, her only real friend.

"Hey Mike," Sara said, trying to look carefree. She subconsciously pulled her jacked sleeves down to cover her wrists a little more. Mike noticed he always did, and as always he said something.

"Your dad," He said lifting up her sleeve carefully, revealing the nasty bruises on both wrists. She hadn't told him, she hadn't told anyone. He had notices one of her usually concealed bruises six months a go, and though she had never said it herself, she would nod if her suggested her father like he had today.

Pulling her sleeves down she nodded, and tucked a piece of her long brown air behind her ear.

"You should tell someone, or run away like Elle did. I don't understand why you didn't go with her. I thought you were close." Elle felt like telling him the truth, she really did. She needed to get it off her chest, but as she opened her mouth to tell him about Elle. Someone walked past; she abruptly closed her mouth and turned away. Mike was stubborn, like her, and not pleased.

"What, what were you going to say," Mike said his voice calm, with only a tint of anger. Sara looked into his dark eyes, and knew that she had to tell him now. Grabbing his coat, she led him into a secluded lane. Stopping, she didn't want to turn around. She could only think of the look on her sister's face, and the hatred in her father's eyes. She felt Mike behind her and she leaned back, she felt safe with Mike, and she felt she could tell him, she knew he would understand loss. Turning she looked into his eyes, she didn't want to burden him, but she needed to share her pain, otherwise she feared the worst. So she just said it.

"Elle didn't run. He killed her mike," He froze, and Sara froze also. For a moment, a small period between her words leaving he mouth and what he was about to do next, she thought.

*That's it, your scared your only friend away*

But Mike didn't run. Sara stood there straight, her eyes bone dry. She had done her crying.

The hug was unexpected, he just grabbed her a it felt like he didn't want to let go, at the fear of losing her to. He didn't say anything, not a word. There was no anger or pity in his voice when he said.

"You've got me now" And that was the moment that Sara cried. She cried for Elle, hanging on to the only thing she had left.

**Present**

Mike was coming here; she didn't know weather to be happy or sad. Yes she wanted to see him again, but no she didn't want to be reminded about her past. That day in the lane was the last time she had cried over her sister. After that, with Mikes help she had picked her self up, and worked harder as school. She had been determined to make the most of her life, and leave the past in the past. The only thing Sara could do was hope Mike didn't bring her past to Vegas with him. ********************************************************* tbc-soon